On Capitalizing 'Son' in Psalm 2

Over at the ketuvim blog, Jim Getz posted
on the need for a translation that is as true to the Hebrew text as possible. He
objects to the practice of translations like NIV, ESV, and NASB which capitalize
‘Son’ in Ps 2:7, 12. For some back and forth on the issue, go here
on the Better Bibles blog.

But what if one holds,
as I do, that Ps 2 is ultimately to be read in light of the entire sweep of
divine involvement in the history of the people of Israel? What if one believes that
Ps 2 is fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled in unexpected ways by Jesus
of Nazareth?

Capitalization in
translation is still objectionable, because it obscures the historical sense the
psalm has, and replaces that sense with its christological sense.

Translations
like NIV, ESV, and NASB all claim to be accurate and faithful to the Hebrew
text as they understand it. It is natural to expect on the basis of these
claims that the historical sense of the text will be the one translated.

NIV, ESV, and
NASB translate the historical sense in most instances. This makes the few times
they don’t stand out like a sore thumb (Ps 2:7, 12; 110:1; Isa 7:14; Zech 9:9;
readers are welcome to point out others).

To be sure, if
translators want to provide the sensus plenior of the text as they
understand it, the choice is theirs and I for one will not challenge it. But
they ought to do so consistently, and say something like this in a preface: “The
Old Testament is translated in accordance with the interpretation given it in
the New Testament.” That would be truth in advertising.

In that case, other
capitalizations are in order. For example, Hosea 11:1 ought to be translated
“Out of Egypt I called my Son.” The fact that it isn’t by the translations in
question reveals the arbitrariness of their approach.

Christian
Interpretation of Inherited Jewish Literature

Let me clarify.
In my view, a hermeneutic that interprets Ps 2 and Hos 11:1 christologically is
essential to Christian theology. It is especially important that the Hosea
passage be so interpreted, because the feature of Matthean christology it
reflects, namely that Jesus is true Israel, not only the true Messiah,
is often overlooked. The failure to grasp this christological dimension is just
as serious as overlooking the affirmation in Johannine christology that Jesus,
besides being true God, is true man.

But the best Christian
exegetes are capable of distinguishing a text’s historical sense from the sense
it has in light of the one they know to be their Lord and Savior. Exegetes who
fail to do so are not being conservative. They are being obtuse.

A both/and
hermeneutic is a defensible framework for Christian interpretation of the Old
Testament. A both/and2 hermeneutic is more helpful still. That is, the
approach I appreciate more than any other is one which describes both the original
sense of a text (what it meant once upon a time, before rabbinic Judaism and
Christianity got hold of it) and the derivative senses it came to have in
rabbinic Judaism on the one hand and among Christians on the other.

The best model
for this kind of commentary is the volume
by Brevard Childs on Exodus in the OTL (1974). A simple both/and
framework is more usual. Two examples may illustrate.

Craigie
and Alonso Schökel

Peter Craigie, an
evangelical exegete, understands the historical sense of Psalm 2 to refer to
the newly crowned king of the dynasty of David. He dates the psalm to the First Temple period, and does not capitalize ‘son’ in v. 7 or v. 12. He fully accepts the
christological reading of the Psalm, but does not import that reading into his
translation.

According to
Craigie, a christological reading of the Psalm has two dimensions. (1) A past
reference, to the rebellion of “Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and
the people of Israel”
against God’s anointed (Acts 4:27): nonetheless, “their violence was not
confronted by other violence, but accepted by Jesus in his death” (Craigie, 69).
(2) An ongoing and future reference, to the rebellion of the powers that oppose
the reign of the “Child” who is “to rule all nations with a rod of iron”
(Revelation 12:5, cited by Craigie, 69). According to the apocalypse, the wrath
of the Messiah which works itself out in history is terrible indeed, but
nonetheless aims at a positive conclusion and will culminate in the creation of
a new heavens and a new earth.

Luis Alonso Schökel, a Catholic exegete,
argues that the psalm dates from a subsequent age in which Israel had no
king at all. On this reading, the psalm is messianic in origin. But he still
does not capitalize ‘son’ in v. 7 (he reads otherwise in v. 12), though he does
capitalize “Anointed” in v. 2.

For Alonso, the
language of sonship in the psalm does not imply that the Anointed was
coessential with Yahweh who adopts him, despite language in v. 7 which might be
and was so interpreted. Alonso believes as much as anyone in orthodox
Christology, but he does not import that belief into his translation.

Alonso rehearses
the history of Christian interpretation of Ps 2 with sensitivity. He quotes at
length from Gregory of Nyssa. Here is an excerpt:

“Called to
the kingdom that dominates all kingdoms, those who formerly lived without God
become God’s heirs through faith in the one who is ‘begotten today’ and ‘consecrated’
for the purpose of reigning over them. They too are reborn as kings.

“With his rod
of iron, i.e., with his invincible power, he smashes what in them is earth and
clay and transforms them into an incorruptible nature.”

For Alonso, the
psalm admits an “eschatological projection,” but he opts to highlight that of 1
Cor 15:24-26, 28, not that of the Apocalypse.

Summary

Acute
interpreters of scripture distinguish between the historical sense of a text
and subsequent interpretation of it, no matter how persuasive the latter might
be.

Future editions
of ESV and the soon-to-be-released ISV would do well to do likewise by not
capitalizing ‘son’ in Psalm 2. TNIV has already taken the plunge and translated
‘anointed’ and ‘son.’ But honesty, as the song says, is a lonely word.

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John, this is probably the best discussion on this question I have ever read. You clearly differentiate between your Christian understanding of the sweep of God's role in history, including the critical role of his son (Son!) for our salvation, from the necessity to translate the historical sense of a passage.

We Christians should not be creating "interpretive" translations of the Bible, even if later parts of the Bible provide a Christological interpretation of Hebrew Bible passages.

While I'd still disagree with taking בר as "son" in v.12, I think you nail the importance of distinguishing between the historical and intertextual sense of the psalm. As a Christian, with Heb 1 in front of me, I read Ps.2 as Christological, but that doesn't mean I should be translating it as such.

BTW: another capitalization controversy is Daniel 9:25-16, where those of a certain eschatological persuasion are apt to see משיח as "the Anointed One" or "the Messiah."

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